Q1. What are fixed assets, and where do I manage them?
Fixed assets are items you use in your business for more than a year, such as equipment, vehicles, and computers. Jaz spreads their cost over their useful life through monthly depreciation entries.
Go to Registers → Fixed Assets. The register has three tabs:
Register: your active fixed assets, with drafts listed below them
Inactive: assets that were fully depreciated, sold, discarded, or closed out
Eligible: transaction line items waiting to be registered as fixed assets
Users with Preparer or Admin permissions for Registers can register assets and save drafts. Only Admins can convert a draft fixed asset to active. See Access Management.
Q2. Which transactions can I register as fixed assets?
You can register a transaction line item from a bill or journal that uses an account with the Fixed Asset account type in your chart of accounts. This line item is the asset’s purchase entry.
For journals, only the debit line item to the fixed asset account can be registered.
Once the bill or journal is active, the line item appears under Eligible.
Record the purchase before registering the asset. Every new fixed asset must be linked to at least one bill or journal line item.
Once a line item is linked to a fixed asset, it can’t be used for another fixed asset.
Q3. How do I register a fixed asset?
Go to Registers → Fixed Assets → Eligible, expand the transaction, tick the line item, and click Register.
You can also click Register Asset → New Fixed Asset and select the line item under Purchase Entry. This list shows the same line items as the Eligible tab.
Complete the depreciation details, such as the depreciation method, start date, useful life in months, and accounts.
Save the asset, or save it as a draft to finish later.
To add assets another way, open the arrow next to Register Asset:
Transfer Fixed Asset: for assets you already started depreciating in another system
Import Fixed Assets: for importing New Assets or Transferred Assets in bulk. See Import Fixed Assets.
Q4. Can I register multiple line items as one fixed asset?
Yes. You can combine multiple line items into one fixed asset if they come from the same transaction and use the same account.
On the Eligible tab, tick each line item, then click Register. Their amounts are added together.
Q5. When I transfer an asset, are its past depreciation entries recorded?
No. Jaz records depreciation entries starting from the transfer date only.
Q6. What depreciation methods are available?
Straight Line: spreads the depreciable value evenly, with one depreciation entry each month
Custom Schedule: lets you set your own monthly depreciation amounts for each period
Depreciation is calculated in whole months. An asset disposed of partway through a month still gets a full month of depreciation.
Q7. How do I set up a Custom Schedule?
Use Custom Schedule when an asset’s depreciation isn’t spread evenly across its useful life.
On the asset form, choose Custom Schedule as the depreciation method, then set up the periods.
For each period, enter the From and To months and the monthly amount. Add a period for each date range.
The monthly amounts must add up exactly to the depreciable value before you can save.
For example, a SGD 60,000 asset could depreciate SGD 1,500 a month for the first 24 months and SGD 1,000 a month for the next 24 months.
Q8. Which accounts can I select for a fixed asset?
Accumulated Depreciation Account: accounts with the Fixed Asset account type only
Depreciation Expense Account: accounts with the Expense account type only
If an account of the correct type doesn’t appear, it may have a lock date after the first scheduled depreciation entry. See Lock Dates (COA).
Q9. What are the depreciable value and cost limit?
The depreciable value is the total depreciation Jaz records over the asset’s useful life.
Depreciable Value: Purchase Value - Residual Value
Cost Limit: a value Jaz uses in place of the purchase value. It must be less than the purchase value.
Set a cost limit when you don’t want to depreciate the asset’s full cost.
Q10. When are depreciation entries posted?
Jaz posts each depreciation entry on the last day of every calendar month. You can’t change this date.
Q11. How do I view an asset’s depreciation schedule?
Click an asset on the register to open it. The Schedule tab shows:
The depreciation start date
The purchase value, accumulated depreciation, and net book value
The Asset Schedule: each depreciation entry by date, with its opening value, depreciation, and book value, grouped by year
A blue line marks the current month’s entry in the schedule.
Click Expand All or Collapse All to show or hide each year’s entries.
The Details tab shows the information you entered when registering the asset.
Q12. Where do depreciation entries appear in my books?
Depreciation entries appear in your General Ledger under the depreciation expense and accumulated depreciation accounts you selected.
To view an asset’s entries, click the 3-dot icon on the asset and choose See Ledger.
Q13. How do I sell a fixed asset?
Before you start, record the sale as an invoice or journal. On the invoice line item, or the journal’s credit line item, use the same fixed asset account as the asset you’re selling.
Click the 3-dot icon on the asset and choose Sell Asset.
Fill in the fields:
Sale Entry: the invoice or journal for the sale. The list shows each entry’s description, reference, amount, and date, grouped by month.
Depreciation End Date: the date of the final depreciation entry
Loss On Disposal Account: the account for the gain or loss on disposal
Check the purchase value, accumulated depreciation, sale value, and gain or loss on disposal, then click Sell Asset.
For example, an asset with a purchase value of SGD 50,000 and no accumulated depreciation, sold for SGD 3,250, records a SGD 46,750 loss on disposal.
Each sale entry can be linked to only one fixed asset sale.
If your invoice or journal isn’t in the list, check that its line item uses the same fixed asset account as the asset.
Q14. How do I discard a fixed asset?
Discard an asset when you dispose of it without selling it, such as when it’s damaged, lost, or scrapped.
Click the 3-dot icon on the asset and choose Discard Asset.
Fill in the fields:
Disposal Date: the date you disposed of the asset
Depreciation End Date: the date of the final depreciation entry
Loss on Asset Disposal Account: the expense account for the remaining book value
Check the purchase value, accumulated depreciation, and loss on disposal, then click Discard.
For example, an asset with a purchase value of SGD 39,000 and accumulated depreciation of SGD 35,500 records a SGD 3,500 loss on disposal.
Q15. What happens when I sell or discard an asset that is still depreciating?
Jaz records a final depreciation entry on the depreciation end date you selected. Entries scheduled after that date are removed.
The gain or loss on disposal posts to the account you selected.
If you sold the asset, the sale entry’s records also appear in your General Ledger.
The asset moves to the Inactive tab.
Q16. What’s on the Inactive tab?
The Inactive tab lists assets that were fully depreciated, sold, discarded, or closed out.
Use the All, Sold, Discarded, and Closed Out tabs to filter the list, or search for an asset.
Each row shows the asset’s name and reference, type, purchase date, disposal date, book value reversal, and gain or loss.
Q17. How do I check that my fixed assets match my balance sheet?
Go to Reports → Summaries → Fixed Assets. You can also click the download button on the Fixed Assets register.
The Fixed Assets Summary has two tabs:
Register: each asset grouped by type, with its purchase date, name, reference, asset account, status, purchase value, and net book value
Reconciliation Summary: compares your fixed asset account balances in the ledger with the register
Set the date range, group by, and filters, then click Refresh. Click the download icon to export the report.
If the balances don’t match, check the Eligible tab for line items that aren’t registered yet.
Q18. How do I edit or duplicate a fixed asset?
To edit, click the 3-dot icon on the asset and choose Edit.
To create a similar asset, click the 3-dot icon and choose Duplicate. All settings are copied except the purchase entry, so select a new purchase entry for the duplicate.
To see the asset’s change history, click the 3-dot icon and choose Activity Log.
Q19. What happens if I change the useful life or depreciable value?
When you edit an asset, Jaz recreates its ledger entries.
If you change the useful life or depreciable value, Jaz recalculates the whole depreciation schedule, including entries already posted in previous months. Reports for those months update automatically.
For example, a SGD 75,000 asset with a useful life of 50 months depreciates SGD 1,500 a month. If you change the useful life to 60 months, every entry becomes SGD 1,250, including months already posted.
Jaz won’t save an edit that changes an entry in a locked period.
Q20. How do I delete a fixed asset, and what happens?
Click the 3-dot icon on the asset and choose Delete.
Jaz deletes all of the asset’s ledger entries, including past depreciation. They no longer appear in your ledger or reports.
Deleting can’t be undone, but the transaction line item returns to Eligible, so you can register it again.
Q21. What happens if I delete or undo a disposal?
Deleting a sold or discarded asset deletes all of its ledger entries, including past depreciation and the disposal entries.
To undo a disposal, open the asset from the Inactive tab, choose Undo Disposal, and click Undo.
The asset returns to the register, the disposal entries are deleted, and the depreciation entries removed by the disposal are recorded again.
Q22. Why am I getting an error when I edit, dispose of, or delete an asset?
The asset may use an account with a lock date. Jaz won’t change entries in a locked period.
Ask an Admin to move the account’s lock date first. See Lock Dates (COA).